You may have noticed that I have been rather self-indulgent recently with all my fabric purchases!

To redress the balance slightly, I decided to use  fabric from my stash to make a new dress. This delightful Lobster print cotton has been loitering in the stash for at least a year, probably two. Whilst I was washing some of the latest fabric purchases that are in a Red colourway, I included this 3 metre length so it was now ready to ‘Sew&Go’.

I used my TNT bodice block with scoop neckline, self-lined cap sleeves and added a 2xwidth of fabric gathered skirt.

No problems with construction – all my usual methods and techniques were applied. They included a lapped zip set in the centre back seam approximately 3 inches down from the neckline. There is roughly 2 inches of ease at the waistline and this seems to be the optimum amount. I will make a note of this for when I prepare the Vogue 8577 pattern.

The skirt panels were cut 29 inches long, the finished hem is at 26 inches. There are the usual pocket bags set into the side seams, the top of the pockets are stitched into the waistline.

In my haste to get the dress cut out and sewn, I forgot all about pattern matching. Also unfortunately, somehow along the way the width of the shoulder seam, especially on the front bodice, has been reduced and this has affected how the self-lined sleeves are set. In addition, I need to re-draft the back neckline as that does not sit quite right. I shall still wear the dress but it will never be a favourite. It is possible that at some time in the future I will remove the sleeves and make the dress sleeveless.